However, the 19-year-old will stay with the French side on loan until the end of the season before linking up with the Blues over the summer.

He has penned a five-and-a-half year deal with the Stamford Bridge outfit and his move will signal the end of months of speculation as he has seen himself thrust into the spotlight over the past two years as one of Europe’s most sought after young players.

Many have tipped him to be the eventual replacement for current club captain John Terry, whose own deal expires at the end of the season, and Zouma’s signing could be seen as the final straw for the ex-England man.

The 6ft 2in is a regular for the France national team and joined Les Verts as a 15-year-old schoolboy. He has featured 52 times for the club, bagging four goals in the process, but saw his season curtailed by a lengthy ten game ban for a tackle that left Sochaux’s Thomas Guerbert with a broken leg.

He has now become the club’s third high profile signing on the January transfer window after Nemanja Matic and Mohamed Salah.